Insurance World

Having worked for the Internal Revenue Service for 10 years as an Instructor, there are a few acid tests Revenue Officers/Agents will use when working a taxpayers' case in their inventory. I also want to mention that when I was an instructor at the IRS, this was the first bit of instruction I would give to Revenue Officers coming on board. "Assume the taxpayers are lying." While this is a bit of an over statement on my part, you should know that as an IRS Agent, "taxpayers on a regular basis never tells the whole truth". While some taxpayers are as honest as the day is long, most are deceiving - and in that case you must dig further for the truth.

Therefore going into each case, these three acid tests are the fastest and quickest ways to spot liars and deceivers.

Three main tips:

1. Make sure the bank statements, tax return, financial statements all have a common thread of income. While there are many exceptions to this rule because of changing circumstances i.e. loss of jobs, life events, generally the money you deposit in your bank needs to tie into your current wages and your income information on your tax return. If this doesn't match up, you can bet your last dollar, IRS will investigate further to see if there may be hidden income. Also your cost of living should be in line with your wages. Exceptions exist such as you are borrowing money or living on savings.

2. IRS can and will pull credit reports to verify monthly payments you are making on other debt or assets. Many people who try to hide and/or deceive the government, will buy money order or cashiers checks. A smart IRS Agent will pull credit reports to verify your IRS financial statement with items found on your credit report.

3. IRS will check through credit reports for loan applications submitted to banks, car dealerships or other financial institutions to verify income and assets. IRS will compare the financial statement you gave the financial institution with the financial statement you submitted to IRS. It should match up; however this is rarely the case.

While this is not a comprehensive list, however, IRS knows where to look for lies and deception and they will find it.

Always turn in a truthful financial statement to the IRS.

Anytime you deal with the IRS, it is always wise to seek reputable professional counsel.

Michael D. Sullivan is a seasoned IRS tax expert. Learn more about Michael and the services he provides at http://www.freshstarttax.com/.

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It's an all too common situation for the millions of Americans who are self employed, unemployed, or otherwise left to the sad state of owing more money on their income tax returns than they could readily pay on the dreaded April due date. Whether you'd decided to knowingly claim superfluous exemptions upon the tax forms given out at the workplace or simply made a mistake upon the (admittedly confusing) documents, there's no difference in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service, and, while this doesn't mean you're left without alternative, you wouldn't be wrong to worry about owing any significant debt to the IRS.

Importantly, though, you cannot afford to waste so much time dithering over the potential consequences of your looming obligations that you fail to submit your past year's tax return on time, even if there's little chance that you would be able to afford the entirety of the outstanding sums. If you cannot remit the totality of your debt to IRS authorities alongside the return, the charges should run to just one half of one percent of the full tab assessed each month, but, for Americans who simply don't turn in their tax return altogether, the resulting monthly fiscal damages rise to a potentially catastrophic five percent, which could bring even a relatively small debt to impossible proportions all too quickly. Furthermore, remember that it will take the Internal Revenue Service an average of forty five days to issue a bill for reclamation of funds, and, even if you still haven't anywhere close to the sums required, the feds shall be more than happy to design a schedule of compensation that does not impose untoward stress upon family finances.

Working out a sustainable approach to debt relief for burdens owed the federal government can be difficult but still reasonable so long as you commit to forward actions from the first sign of trouble and don't allow the monetary obligations to relentlessly escalate. When the sums involved are truly enormous, your best alternative to avoid bankruptcy and garner some hope of a foreseeable end to your debt to IRS agents will be immediate action and an effective system of budgeting appreciable amounts of money each month to meet in full the payment plan consequently reached during discussions with Revenue Service representatives.

Obviously, the difficulties associated with eliminating any debt to IRS officials will be magnified if, at the same time, you are engaged in any serious form of credit card debt relief or similarly motivated management of interest bearing burdens. Common sense would indicate that credit card debt loads regularly featuring Annual Percentage Rates nearing twenty percent per annum should take precedence within the household, but, alas, the powers of reclamation at the government's disposal may not always allow such, regardless of the temptation to first address the debts with the greatest capacity to spiral out of control.

Indeed, by offering deductions upon the interest charged to credit card debt balances utilized to consolidate the debt to IRS coffers, the Department of the Treasury explicitly urges United States citizens to arrange a consolidation package through commercial lenders in order to rid themselves of their obligations to the government as soon as possible. To make matters worse, borrowers who've taken advantage of the popular debt settlement negotiation program to reduce their credit card debt by means of substantial monthly payments may have to halt their participation (and surrender previously agreed upon forgiveness of debt balances), but, should the only other option be wage garnishment or property liens, settlement customers wouldn't have much choice in the matter.

For more information on IRS tax help or if you want learn more about other debt relief solutions, please visit Totaldebtrelief.net. Speak with a financial adviser about your debt elimination options.

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